The comic artwork of Ryan Claytor.

Yesterday was a whirlwind trip across state lines and then back home to Michigan, all in the name of visiting the Best New Chicago Comic Book Store, Challengers Comics + Conversation. As you may have heard, Challengers hired me to redesign their business card, so I drove over to Chi-town for a business card unveiling party. So, without further ado, here are the shiny new Challengers’ business cards (click images to enlarge):

The day started with an early morning drive. One of my buddies, Dean, was nice enough to accompany me for the trip. This shot was taken for our homey, Jay, as we stopped at some gas depot in Michigan…or Illinois…or was it Indiana. I can’t quite recall, all the states are so small over here.

Chicago welcomed us with a chilly morning. Hello, snow.

We rolled up about 11:15am, 15 minutes after Challengers opened and 45 minutes before the signing started @ Noon. There was only one problem; we were there at 11:15am Eastern Standard Time (Lansing-time), not Central Standard Time (Chicago-time). Woopsies.

After killing an hour at a local eatery, we tried entering the store again, this time with much greater success. In fact, Patrick welcomed us with a present (Challengers RINGS).

I had a present up my sleeve too. I framed my original artwork, along with the colored/printed business cards for owners Patrick and Dal.

I think Patrick liked it.

Andrew Pepoy also shared the signing day with me. If you’re not aware, Andrew does great work inking titles like Fables, Jack of Fables, Batman, and many more. He was also signing and promoting his creator owned work called, “Simone and Ajax.” Gene Ha stopped by the signing as well. Gene is the very talented artist who works on countless titles from the big two.

Some of the most rewarding experiences were from the ChallengeJuniors, or more specifically, ChallenJULIAN. Julian told me he was really happy to meet me because I was one of his friends on the ChallengersComics.com social networking website. Great to meet you in person, Julian.

So, Challengers Comics + Conversation has this signing wall. Any customer, be they professional artist or aspiring 5-year-old, can try their hand at sketching on their signing wall. I did as much during my Challengers’ signing back in 2008. Since that time, one of my favorite artists, Craig Thompson, just so happened to plunk his pen down right next to my sketch. If Craig Thompson was part of the Challengers’ social networking website, when I met him in-person I’d tell him I was really happy to meet him because I was one of his friends on ChallengersComics.com.

I couldn’t leave without documenting the sweet-sweet signage put up by the Challengers’ crew. They certainly know how to make a guy feel welcome.

After a quick linner (not quite lunch, but not yet dinner), Dean and I hit the road again. Goodbye, Chicago. It was a lovely day. I wish you weren’t a 4-hour-drive from home.

Ryan, thanks so much for sharing your trip to Challengers in Chicago for the unveiling of their new business cards you designed for them. It sounds like you and friends had a great trip/visit with each other.